Stacy Alesi

THE THREE EMPERORS by William Dietrich

May 11, 2014

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An Ethan Gage Adventure

Dietrich continues his series of novels about the adventures of Ethan Gage traveling the world and encountering the French emperor Napoleon at various periods of the great man’s military feats.

After a quick witted escape from death at the naval battle of Trafalgar, Gage sets out to find and rescue his wife Astiza and son Harry, who have fled to avoid capture and fallen into the hands of a ruthless mystic. The mystic lusts after Astiza and to keep him away from his mother, Harry manages to disfigure him by hurling acid at his face.

The pair escape retribution by indicating that Astiza, through her skills in alchemy, will be able to turn base material into gold, and help the mystic find a fabled automaton rumored to be able to tell the future. Astiza manages to keep her unwanted suitor at bay by her experiments, promising to comply with his demands until Ethan finally reaches her and his son.

En route to find his family, Ethan is drafted into the French army and is forced to take part in the battle of Austerlitz, thought to be Napoleon’s greatest victory. He survives the fighting and manages to flee the army with the help of a Jewish soldier and continues on the journey looking for Astiza.

Dietrich delves into the metaphysics of the period when describing the search for a grave containing the automaton as well as the body of the man that created it. It is a departure for the author but well done in terms of making the story better and could have been accomplished by the skills of the period if the imagination was available. It is certain that Dietrich will continue with the characters created in this series, and there are many possibilities still open for their adventures. The research into the early 1800s, Napoleon’s time frame of action, is evident and while literary license is used in many aspects of the novels, the main events are well delineated for the reader.

5/14 Paul Lane

THE THREE EMPERORS by William Dietrich. Harper (May 6, 2014). ISBN 978-0062194107. 384p.

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ARCLIGHT by Josin L. McQuein

May 10, 2014

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In Marina’s world there is the dark, the gray, and the Arclight. The Arclight means life to those who are left. Those who are still human. For the Fade, those who populate the dark, light means death and this is what keeps Marina and the rest safe. But one day the Fade find a way inside the Arclight. Now the life humankind has built for itself is at stake and it’s up to Marina, the only person who’s survived life beyond the light, to help save everyone.

I was quite stunned by Arclight. This wasn’t a book I’d heard much about when it was released last year – possibly because the premise is unique enough that no one would want to give away too much. And it is quite different. The reader is thrown into Marina’s world from page one without much explanation at all. I’ll admit I was more than a little confused but stuck it out to see what would be revealed in the pages to come, and I’m so glad that I did.

McQuein’s futuristic setting is one in which technology has overtaken everything. And while those in the Arclight are knowledgeable about things like the scientific achievements that surround them, the truth about their world is kept somewhat secret by those in charge.

5/14 Becky Lejeune

ARCLIGHT by Josin L. McQuein. Greenwillow Books; Reprint edition (March 25, 2014). ISBN 978-0062130150. 432p.

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DELICIOUS! by Ruth Reichl

May 9, 2014

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Ruth Reichl is well known for her memoirs, including my favorite, Garlic & Sapphires, about her stint as the New York Times restaurant critic. She is also well known for her stewardship at Gourmet magazine before its demise, and her occasional appearances on TV shows like Top Chef. This is her first novel, and it’s a really fun read.

Billie Breslin quits college in her senior year to apply for a job as assistant to the editor at a famous food magazine, Delicious. At her interview she is asked to cook, which freaks her out a bit but she rolls up her sleeves and makes gingerbread. Billie concocted the recipe when she was ten years old after her mother died, taking the recipe with her. The gingerbread cinches her the job, and she moves from California to New York City.

On her first day she is sent out with Sal on an errand. Sal owns Fontinari’s, a famous Manhattan cheese shop and deli, and he gives her a foodie tour of the city. Turns out Billie has a gift, a palate that can easily pick out even the most unusual flavors. Sal keeps her out so long she fears she will be fired her first day, but she can’t bring herself to leave him and his fascinating tour.

Billie keeps her job, at least for a while, making friends with the staff along the way including Sammy, the tweed wearing, multi-syllabic vocabulary spouting travel writer. She writes letters home to her older sister Genie, whom she idolizes. Billie has always felt second rate compared to her beautiful, talented, smart sister and fails to recognize her own gifts.

When Delicious is suddenly shut down, à la Gourmet magazine, all her new friends find themselves out of work, but Billie is asked to stay on to handle the “Delicious Guarantee”, basically a customer service nightmare of a job. But she has bills to pay so she says yes, rattling around in the big empty mansion that once housed the magazine.

Sammy shows her the previously verboten library, which had been locked for years. They find a secret room hidden behind a bookcase, which hides shelves of handwritten letters dating back to World War II. She is entranced with Lulu, a 12 year old girl who has a correspondence with famed chef James Beard, a one time employee of the magazine.

Tracking down Lulu’s letters becomes Billie’s preoccupation, and the meticulous research that Reichl did shines here, especially in light of the treatment of the Italian Americans (and Italians) during the war. This aspect of the book reminded me of Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline, which also touched on this topic in a very personal way.

Billie also has a love interest, eventually – a regular customer at Fontinari’s, where Billie works on weekends. Dubbed “Mr. Complainer,” the mystery man keeps popping up throughout, adding another layer of interest.

I have carefully resisted all the food metaphors that would be so easy to employ here, but I have to say that this is a very sweet book, and an entertaining, fast read – a wonderful way to kick off summer reading.

5/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

DELICIOUS! by Ruth Reichl. Random House (May 6, 2014). ISBN 978-1400069620. 400p.

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BORDER WAR by Lou Dobbs & James O. Born

May 8, 2014

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BORDER WAR is also available as a audiobook read by Jeff Gurner. Listen to an excerpt !

Lou Dobbs, an eminent broadcast figure and author, and James O. Born, a major author who has been a member of the DEA and is currently an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, have teamed up to present us with a novel set in the area of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

The Mexican side is rife with crimes including high murder rates due to the presence of drug cartels shipping to the United States. It is also an area with a huge percent of undocumented Mexicans trying to cross the border to work in the U.S.

Tom Eriksen, an agent for the FBI, was involved with some violence when he worked in the Eastern US and has been transferred to El Paso as “punishment” for his screw up. He knows that he has to redeem himself if he is to remain in the bureau. When an investigation ends in a murde,r Tom is assigned to cover the case, and when his partner is also killed he knows that he must take charge of the cases or lose all credibility and possibly be fired.

Tom teams up with two beautiful women working for allied agencies and assigned to helping solve the killings. The investigation moves through corruption and possible betrayal by a member of Tom’s team bringing up a drug warlord and the work of a computer manufacturer using shady practices to grow itself against huge rivals.

The writing is crisp, very fast, jumping from one situation to the next. Tom’s relationship with the two women helping him moves towards an affair with one, and interest in the other. There is no doubt that this is the first book of others to come involving the same characters and bringing the authors’ knowledge of the problems on the border to life. Well done, and very well worth keeping on eye out for the next novel involving these characters and their interactions with each other, and the criminals they hunt.

5/14 Paul Lane

BORDER WAR by Lou Dobbs & James O. Born. Forge Books (May 6, 2014). ISBN 978-0765327710. 336p.

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WOVERINE BROS. FREIGHT & STORAGE by Steve Ufelder

May 7, 2014

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A Conway Sax Mystery (Book 4)

Conway Sax is back and as hard headed as ever. A recovering drug addict and alcoholic, Sax is a member of the Barnburners, a hard-core Alcohol Anonymous splinter group.

When one of the members, eighty-two-year-old Eudora Spoon, asks Sax to bring her son Kenny home so she can see him one last time before the cancer takes her, he agrees and heads out to find the washed up TV star being held hostage. Sax gets him home but has some Mexican drug lords hot on his trail.

Eudora’s other son, Harmon, is the local police chief, and sibling rivalry rears its ugly head. Sax’s girlfriend is still out of the picture so he hooks up with Tricia, Harmon’s estranged wife, which complicates things even further.

Amazingly, as gritty and violent as Sax is, he is also endearing, a difficult feat to pull off but Ufelder does it brilliantly. Lots of action and violence along with a dash of humor are the hallmarks of this series, and this latest entry does not disappoint. The twists and turns run wildly through this story right up to the surprising ending. Ufelder, like Elmore Leonard, exemplifies contemporary noir.

5/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

WOVERINE BROS. FREIGHT & STORAGE by Steve Ufelder. Minotaur Books (May 6, 2014). ISBN 978-1250028105. 320p.

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Guest Blogger: Jennifer Scott

May 6, 2014

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I am delighted to welcome my guest blogger today, Jennifer Scott, as her new book arrives in stores. And read through to the end to find out how you can win your own copy!

My Big, Fat, Fake Book Club

by Jennifer Scott

I don’t belong to a book club. Seems that I should. After all, I love books. I love talking about books. I love people who love talking about books. I’m a sure fit.

I’ve only been invited to officially join one book club, and at the time it didn’t work with my schedule. Evenings, kids, sports, school events, blah blah blah, the usual.

Every so often, however, I fantasize about creating my very own book club. My book club would be fabulous. We’d meet over potlucks, just like Jean’s book club does in The Accidental Book Club. I’d bust out my best recipes, and maybe even try some new ones to fit a challenging theme. Perhaps jiaozi and steamed buns for Amy Tan’s The Valley of Amazement, or a hearty beef stew and a stout beer for Kent Haruf’s Benediction.

In my big, fat, fake book club, we would turn out all the lights and discuss Marisha Pessl’s Night Film by creepy candlelight. Maybe the braver among us would fire up a scary movie afterward. The next month we would all write confessional letters to Richard Gere, to celebrate our reading of Matthew Quick’s The Good Luck of Right Now.

Perhaps we would wear formals to discuss Prom Nights from Hell. After that, we’d tackle some provocative nonfiction—perhaps The Death Class by Erika Hayasaki—and have weighty discussions surrounded by “brain food”—blueberry crumble, smoked salmon, guacamole.

And, of course, my game-for-anything fake book club would read The Accidental Book Club. We’d all bring regular dishes that we’d “gourmeted up” with capers and fancy cheese and other foody things, drink tons of wine, and talk about motherhood, expectations, and friendship.

Alas, I will probably never start a book club. Evenings, kids, sports, school events, blah blah blah, the usual. I will never get to throw a reality TV-themed party to discuss A.S. King’s Reality Boy.

But boy did I love inventing a book club in The Accidental Book Club.

I had such a good time trying out new dishes through Jean, being taken away on sexy fictional romps through Loretta, getting politically fired up through Mitzi, and thinking deeply through shy, sensitive Janet. I loved picturing the set table, the books lovingly laid out with the water glasses. I loved imagining the scent of the wine as it was being poured, the view of the woods through the dining room window.

I especially loved the camaraderie of the women—the way they had each other’s backs, the way they understood one another, the way they looked out for each other and spoke their minds. I loved that the book club itself, just like the books they were there to read, went so much deeper than just words on a page.
The Accidental Book Club may be the only book club I ever belong to. But I don’t mind, because they were a pretty fun group to hang out with. *grabs book* Now, where’s the food?

About the book:

In THE ACCIDENTAL BOOK CLUB, we meet Jean Vison, a widow who never expected to live without her husband, much less start a book club. A spontaneous idea leads to a monthly meeting of six very different but colorful women, each with their own life stories and unique interpretations of the book selections, whose meetings are not complete without lots of wine, gourmet food, and laughter. Through these women Jean rediscovers the joy in life, and begins to see that there is a chance for happiness after losing her late husband. But soon Jean’s family is in trouble again, and her teenage granddaughter Bailey comes to live with her, turning Jean’s newfound peace upside down. In turning to the book club for support, Jean and Bailey discover that family is what you make of it—even the family you choose. Sometimes the most unexpected circumstances lead to the most powerful connections and friendships.

If you’d like to win a copy of THE ACCIDENTAL BOOK CLUB–

Send an email to contest@gmail.com with “ACCIDENTAL BOOK CLUB” as the subject. You must include your snail mail address in your email.

All entries must be received by May 20, 2014. One (1) name will be drawn from all qualified entries and notified via email. This contest is open to all adults over 18 years of age in the United States only. One entry per email address. Subscribers to the monthly newsletter earn an extra entry into every contest. Follow this blog to earn another entry into every contest. Winners may win only one time per year (365 days) for contests with prizes of more than one book. Your email address will not be shared or sold to anyone.

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FICTITIOUS DISHES by Dinah Fried

May 5, 2014

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An Album of Literature’s Most Memorable Meals

This is a most unusual and intriguing little gem of a book. I would call it a coffee table book, for that is where it belongs in any sort of book-lovers home, but it is small, a mere 6 x 8.4 inches. Nevertheless, it packs a big punch and is sure to be a terrific conversation starter. It was in my house.

Fried started this project while earning her MFA in graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design. In her introduction, she talks about how food in books has always been so memorable for her, so she decided to create and photograph some of the most memorable meals in literature.

I loved how she compares eating and reading; both are consumed, both can transport you, or this: “Heavy books and heavy meals both require a period of intense digestion.” There’s more, and it’s funny and illuminating.

But the meat of the book, if you will, are the photos. Each page has a photo of the meal on one side, and the opposing page has information about the book. Fried really excels at parsing literature down to one bite. She includes a quote from the book that inspired the meal, some fun facts about the book or the author or the food, like Hemingway’s favorite drink was the martini, or from The Namesake, that Rice Krispie Treats first appeared a decade after the cereal debuted in 1928. Also included is a book summary, an annotated list of the titles used.

Some are obvious, like the Madeleines from Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way or the bucket of blueberries from Robert McCloskey’s children’s classic, Blueberries for Sal. All are imaginative, whether she is drawing on contemporary literature (The Corrections, Motherless Brooklyn) or a classic (Ulysses, Oliver Twist.) One of the most inspired probably has to be The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Fried says she collected food and let it rot for weeks to create this photo.

There are several children’s books represented as well, like The Secret Garden, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland and more.

Fictitious Dishes: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

All told there are fifty books imagined and pictured. I really enjoyed this book – it would make a fine gift for the reader in your life.

5/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

FICTITIOUS DISHES by Dinah Fried. Harper Design (April 15, 2014). ISBN 978-0062279835. 128p.

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BLACK CHALK by Christopher J. Yates

May 4, 2014

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Six friends at Pitt started a game their freshman year. By the time the year came to an end, only five of them remained. But the game didn’t end there. Over a decade later it’s time for the next round to begin and this time they’ll have to play to the finish.

Christopher J. Yates’s debut is full of suspense and charged atmosphere.

First there is the game: one of dares and humiliation – what could go wrong there, right? Of course the stakes have to get higher to ensure the game doesn’t lose momentum and the “friends” begin to wonder if they were ever friends at all.

But Yates also tells the tale in a dual storyline – one from the characters’ freshman year and one fourteen years later. The identity of narrator in the present day thread is quite cleverly hidden from the reader initially. And when that person is revealed the reader begins to realize just how unreliable he or she may be.

Both the elements of the game and the way Yates’s characters play out make Black Chalk a deliciously wicked read, one that leaves the reader on edge right until the very last page.

5/14 Becky Lejeune

BLACK CHALK by Christopher J. Yates. Random House UK (April 1, 2014). ISBN 978-1846557286. 352p.

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: Thriller | Permalink
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THE LAST ORIGINAL WIFE by Dorothea Benton Frank

May 3, 2014

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As Leslie and her husband Wes have grown older, certain things about their relationship have changed. But they are the last amongst their friends still in their first marriage. That doesn’t mean things are rosy. In fact, Les has had it with Wes. Their trip to Scotland was the final straw, leaving Les with the feeling that it may be the end for them. A trip to Charleston to stay with her brother is just what she needs, but will it force Les to reevaluate her marriage or will it open her eyes to all new possibilities?

Everything I’ve heard about Dorothea Benton Frank led me to expect a sultry and summery southern novel. I didn’t quite find that to be the case with The Last Original Wife.

The story was entertaining at times and there are definitely moments of great humor, but I also found it to be kind of depressing; through Les, Wes, and their friends it would seem that all marriage is doomed.

I can see why Dorothea Benton Frank’s work has charmed audiences for so long but The Last Original Wife didn’t hit the spot for me.

5/14 Becky Lejeune

THE LAST ORIGINAL WIFE by Dorothea Benton Frank. William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (April 1, 2014). ISBN 978-0062132475. 368p.

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SPUN by Catherine McKenzie

May 2, 2014

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eBook

Amber Sheppard has worked hard to stay clean in the many months since her stint in rehab. But things haven’t been easy. The public is constantly on watch, waiting for her next screw up. Her parents have begun to hit the talk show circuit speaking out about their daughter’s behavior – even when there’s nothing of note to speak of. And the casting agents have their reservations about the new Amber as well.

Then there’s Connor Parks. In spite of everything Amber just can’t shake him. He’s been calling, texting, and emailing for months and while her heart longs to answer, she’s managed to put him off. Until now. Amber agrees to meet him one last time and it changes absolutely everything.

Oh, poor Amber. When we met her in Catherine McKenzie’s debut, Spin, she was kind of a snot. She was unwilling to listen to the advice of those around her and seemingly set on her ruinous ways.

But that’s not the case any more. Post rehab Amber has had a chance to reconsider her actions and longs for a change. But of course things aren’t that easy when you’re the center of the public eye.

Spin was one of my absolute favorite reads the year it was released – and still today. Not only was the story warm and funny, but the characters were so big and real. They were definitely people I wanted to see more of beyond that first book, so I was really, really excited to get the chance to return to them in Spun. And McKenzie did not let me down. Everyone I came to know and love in Spin is back but this time Amber is the star of the show. And once again the story is both heartbreaking and hopeful. Another truly excellent release from one of my favorite authors.

5/14 Becky Lejeune

SPUN by Catherine McKenzie. HarperCollins Canada (April 29, 2014). ASIN: B00I7WV51Q. 150p.

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